Guarding Amazon Life

Rampant deforestation fragments habitats, isolating animal populations and blocking genetic flow, while illegal logging, mining, and pollution push fragile species beyond survival thresholds. Mercury runoff from gold mining seeps into rivers, poisoning fish and the predators, including humans, who depend on them. Some species, like the woolly monkey, are already classified as vulnerable after decades of decline. Its populations are declining due to habitat loss, hunting for bushmeat, and capture for the pet trade, with severe reductions observed throughout much of its range in the Amazon basin, including Ecuador.

The Amazon is definitely more colourful than any ecosystem in Europe or Northern America. No other place can replicate pumas, poison‑dart frogs, countless insects, and plants still to be named. The whole Amazon basin is home to 10 % of the world’s biodiversity such as: South American tapirs, toucans, anacondas, river dolphins and other keystone species. And the closer you get to the equator (Ecuador is unbeatably close), the more species you will find. Yet, those are disappearing under pressure from deforestation and hunting. Mercury from illegal mining poisons aquatic life, tracing death up the food chain. Without urgent action, many Amazon species may vanish before the world even knows their names. Through Forest Guardians, we protect habitat, monitor species, and give Indigenous guardians the authority and funding they need to defend biodiversity.